Would you mind helping me correct the essay about the topic below? Thank you very much.

Topic: What do you want most in a friend - someone who is intelligent, or someone who has a sense of humor, or someone who is reliable? Which one of these characteristics is most important to you? Use reasons and specific examples to explain your choice.

In life, everyone has a number of acquaintances, but no one has many friends, for true friendship is not common, and there are many people who seem to be incapable of it. For a friendship to be close and lasting, both the friends must have some very special qualities. Some people prefer their friends to be intelligent, while many others put the sense of humor as the primary qualification, and others believe in reliability. Each of these qualities has its own importance. It depends on your own experience and life style. In my point of view, the most important quality for a friend is someone who has a sense of humor.

First and foremost, humor is a very important character of a person, because a person who is humorous can always bring you happiness. I have a friend, who is not very intelligent and reliable, but she is one of my best friends, just because she has a good sense of humor. Whenever you call her, talk with her, she always tells you some funny jokes that make you laughing. Even though you are in a very bad mood, she can make you laugh and forget the sad things. A friend with a good sense of humor is very optimistic; they can make your world full of light.

Secondly, in social environment, ones that have sense of humor would create friendship faster than others. At the same time, sense of humor is the sign of intelligence because people wouldn’t laugh anything when said. There is a good brain at the background of it. So that, this funny person will always be seek in social activities to make their friends laugh. Yes, having such a friend is good to have funny moments.

To sum up briefly, people can have many special characteristics. Friend plays a very significant role in everyone’s life. But humor is the most important character in a friend, because humorous friends make you happy and see the world optimistically. They make your world full of hope, and full of laughter.

Hi Phuong, this essay started off very strong. You had a nice introduction and your first body paragraph was very convincing and included an effective example that included specific and relevant details. The rest of your essay was somewhat lower in quality. Maybe you were running out of time or maybe running out of ideas? Your conclusion was ok, but I would suggest rearranging the order of the sentences. Here are some more specific suggestions:

PhuongDu:

In life, everyone has a number of acquaintances, but no one has many [real] friends, for true friendship is not common, and there are many people who seem to be incapable of it. For a friendship to be close and lasting, both the friends must have some very special qualities. Some people prefer their friends to be intelligent, while many others put [a] sense of humor as the primary qualification, and others believe in reliability. Each of these qualities has its own importance.{I would use a semicolon here} It depends on your own experience and life style. In my point of view, the most important quality for a friend is someone who has a sense of humor.

First and foremost, humor is a very important character {“character trait” or “characteristic”} of a person, because a person {“because a friend who”, or better “because a relationship with someone who …” are better to avoid repetition} who is humorous can always bring you happiness. I have a friend, who is not very intelligent and reliable, but [nevertheless] {never pass up an opportunity to use “nevertheless” } is one of my best friends, just because she has a good sense of humor. Whenever [ I] call her [or] {be careful never to substitute a comma for “and” or “or”. I know it is very common in Vietnamese English and personally I think it is a good idea, but it is not standard} talk with her, she always tells [me] some funny jokes that [get me] laughing. {try to avoid 2nd person in formal essays - first person makes more sense here anyway - your friend has never made ME laugh! } Even though [I may be] in a very bad mood, she can [always make me] laugh and forget the sad things. A friend with a good sense of humor is very optimistic; they can make [one’s] world full of light.

Secondly, in social [environments], ones that {I prefer using “who” when referring to people instead of “that”, but that is more my personal bias} have sense of humor would create [friendships] faster than others. At the same time, [a ]sense of humor is [a ] sign of intelligence because people wouldn’t {avoid contractions in formal essays} laugh anything when said. {this sentence does not make sense to me - I think you are trying to say that it takes intelligence to be able to spot the humor in a situation} There is a good brain at the background of it. {this sounds awkward - usually we use “mind” instead of “brain”, although we do say “she has a lot of brains”} So that, this funny person will always be [sought after] in social activities to make their friends laugh. Yes, having such a friend is good to have funny moments.
{this paragraph was not nearly as strong as your first one. First you seem to be combining two ideas - “funny people are better in social situations” and “funny people are smarter”. As far as the second point goes, if you want a funny friend because they are smart, why not just choose a smart friend? which is one of the options given in the prompt. So that reason is not as strong. Your first reason, concerning their social skills, is better, but you need to tweak it a little. That would explain why funny people have more friends, but the question is why do you want a friend who is funny? Maybe you can continue the argument by saying that your funny friend is the life of the party and has a lot of other friends. So when you go out with her you are sure to have lots of fun and be at the center of activity; plus you can meet lots of new people because your funny friend knows everybody and everybody loves her.}

To sum up briefly, people can have many special characteristics. [Friends play] a very significant role in everyone’s life. But humor is the most important character [trait] in a friend, because humorous friends make you happy and see the world optimistically. They make your world full of hope, and full of laughter. {this is good, but it usually sounds better to begin your conclusion with a restatement of the thesis - then you can broaden it out. I would suggest rearranging your sentences like:

To sum up briefly, humor is the most important character trait in a friend, because humorous friends make you happy and see the world optimistically. Friends play a very significant role in each person’s life. Therefore, when choosing your relationships, remember that a friend who is funny can make your world full of hope and full of laughter. }